And I scanned a web site I like of gift baskets for some far-away family.

And I supported Rene and Nathan when they wanted to get up at the crack of dawn on Black Friday and walk up to Big Lots and Target. (And by “supported” I mean “told them they should drink a glass of chocolate milk before they go out.”)

They did, too. The alarm went off at 5 a.m., Nathan sighed deeply, then he went and woke Rene up. And the two of them lumbered downstairs in the dark, drank two glasses of chocolate milk, then trudged a half mile around the block to Big Lots, where Nate wanted to stand in line to get a camcorder with his allowance money. They said it wasn’t even crowded. In fact, they thought it was fun. So then they went to Target – another half mile around the same circle – and Rene went to a makeup store called Ulta. And success all around, they said. (I, of course, attribute their success to the chocolate milk their mother recommended. A shot of protein and a shot of sugar can keep you going for hours. …)

Of course, I wouldn’t really know what keeps you shopping for hours. Because I never shop for hours. I did not go out on Black Friday. Fighting any kind of crowd, and standing for too long on any kind of store carpet, seems like my version of hell. I don’t know if I’m being stubborn or lazy, but I keep thinking I have plenty of time to do all the shopping I want later in the month.

I’ll check back in at the end of the month and let you know how frantic I’ve become. …